November 17, 2005
ePaynews: Debit cards, which in 2003 accounted for 31 percent of transactions at the POS, are verified with either a PIN or a signature in the United States, where the security merits of both options are being debated. Although PIN-based debit card payments are more secure than signature-debit, according to the National Retail Federation, U.S.-based cardholders made 10.3 billion signature-based and 5.3 billion PIN-secured debit card transactions in 2003. Three times more U.S. retailers also accept signature-debit than PIN-debit card transactions, with costs and fraud risk being crucial factors.